


How To Return Home

by SilverCrane



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 17:29:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21359977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverCrane/pseuds/SilverCrane
Summary: Four years.Four years spent in Santa Fe.Four years of no contact with his family back in New York.Four years, and Jack Kelly finally makes his way back home.
Relationships: Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	How To Return Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I'm back~ Sorry for the radio silence, I've been pretty busy! Now that Ready As I'll Ever Be is done, I don't know what to do with my life! :P  
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this <3

The thing that shocks Jack the most is the wave of longing that rushes over him the second he steps off the bus.

He blinks, reorienting himself, and quiets the small voice in the back of his head that warns him that maybe this isn't such a good idea.

The park across from the bus step is exactly the same as it was before, and Jack finds himself counting his steps, singing in his head.

_ "One, two, buckle my shoe_

_Three, four, shut the door_

_Five, six, pick up sticks!"_

_"Wait, Jackie- you're doin' it wrong!" Crutchie calls out, limping hurriedly after Jack. Although at 7, he was only a year younger, he was several inches shorter, which Jack teased him for quite often._

_"Yeah? Well, how's it go then?" He challenges, amusing himself with the way his little brother's face crumples in thought. _

_"I think it goes like this..." _

Jack pauses, shaking the memory from his head. He can still see the ghost of the memory, can still hear Crutchie's excited chattering.

He makes it down the block, not sparing another glance at the playground. His feet move on autopilot, guiding him down past his high school bus stop.

_ "Hey, Cowboy!" Race shouts, running quickly to catch up to him._

_Jack stops, turning around to face the taller boy. "Sup, Racer?" He asks, affectionately ruffling his younger brother's hair when he gets close enough._

_"I thought I told you t' wait for me!" Race pouts, pushing his hand off._

_Jack feels guilty at that, eyes darting nervously to the receding back of a certain redheaded yearbook captain. "Sorry, Racer. I had to ask Kath a question. About... yearbook."_

_Race raises an eyebrow at that, a smirk crossing his lips. "Sure it was about yearbook?" He teases, leaning close to Jack._

_"Yeah I'm sure, dumbass. Now c'mon, we'll be late picking up Romeo." _

The memory fades away again, and Jack begins to wonder if this really was a good idea. But he was already here, and his destination was barely a block away.

He shoves his hands deeper into his pocket and quickens his strides. The sooner he got there the better. He keeps his head down until he reaches the familiar white picket fence, and his breath catches in his throat.

It's been four years since he stood in front of his childhood home, and yet it hasn't changed a single bit.

He hesitantly opens the gate, noticing the addition of a flower patch, well-cared for daisies sprouting up. He fishes his keys from his pocket, quickly finding the right one. It's a little rusty, and his name written in black marker has long worn off. But Jack can remember exactly where it was, rubbing his finger gently over the spot. 

His key fits nicely into the lock, turning with a soft click. He grabs the door out of habit, careful to not let it hit the wall. There's already a deep mark, from the numerous times it had been flung open by Romeo, or Race, or even one of the twins. 

_ "Hey Jack! Hey Jack! Medda said we could go get some ice cream!" Mike shouts from upstairs, leaning over the railing. _

_"Yeah, 'cause me an' Mike got all A's! Ain't that great?" Ike chimes in, joining his brother on the stairs. Mike grins at that, and they make eye contact, suddenly bolting into action, flinging themselves onto the landing and sliding down._

_"Hey, be careful you two!" Jack chides, shaking his head at their antics. The twins ignore him, leaping off the stairs and scrambling to put their shoes on._

_"Last one out the door is a rotten egg!" Ike cheers, slamming the door open._

_"Watch the door!" Medda calls from inside the house, but the twins are long gone. _

Jack gently traces the mark, smiling faintly at the memory.

There's a pile of shoes by the door, and Jack takes a second to sort them, lining them up in neat little rows. He doesn't recognize any of them, but the dr. martens have to belong to Smalls, because who else would they belong to?

He quickly slips off his own converse, lining them up to his siblings' shoes. He pauses before crossing into the actual house, uneasy to disturb the silence. He has to remind himself that this is his house, too.

He touches the wall with one hand while walking, studying the pictures hanging on the wall. Unsurprisingly, most of the ones with him in them had been removed, and the ones he does find have his face scribbled out, in bright red sharpie. It hurts his heart a little, but that's honestly his fault.

The stairs still creak in all the places they used to, and Jack finds the noise oddly comforting in the otherwise dead silence of the house. The rooms are still labeled in Medda's loopy cursive, just as he remembered.

Smalls.

Mike and Ike, ever the package.

Race, with little stars and hearts doodled around his name.

Crutchie.

Romeo.

Jack.

_ "Hey, Miss Medda!" Six year old Jack pouts, crossing his scrawny arms over his chest. "How come Crutchie gets a cool sign but I don't got nothin'?" _

_Medda gives him a small smile, patting her lap. Jack obliges, crawling up onto the couch with her. "I was just going to start planning yours, sugar! Do you want to help me?" She spreads a piece of paper across the coffee table, handing Jack a marker. He takes it happily, grinning up at her. _

The inside of his room is just as he left it, and he's hit with the overwhelming smell of lavender and old books and something uniquely _ home._

And he can't help it, can't help the tears that fall from his face, can't help the sharp pain in his chest, as the smells surround him.

_ "Jack!" Romeo shouts, banging on Jack's door. He opens it to find a disheveled Romeo, tears tracking down his cheeks. "You're really leavin'?"_

_It takes Jack by surprise, because he was certain it would take longer for his secret to get out._

_But yet here he was, face-to-face with his devastated younger brother._

_"Uh- yeah." He nervously rubs the back of his neck, wincing when Romeo erupts into more sobs._

_"What the hells goin' on here?" Smalls shouts, slamming her door open. She freezes when she sees Romeo and Jack, worry immediately crossing her face. "Jack?"_

_Jack shifts uncomfortably, eying the graduation gown hanging on the back of his door. He hadn't yet removed it, too busy with his other preparations._

_"I'm leaving." He says finally, voice almost drowned out by Romeo's sobs. "I was accepted into an art college. In Santa Fe. They want me down there as soon as possible." He avoids Smalls' eyes, unable to see exactly how much she's affected by his declaration. "I'm leaving tomorrow."_

_His eyes dart up at the sound of a slamming door, and Smalls is gone. _

He places his bag on the floor of his room, carefully spinning in a circle. The aching in his chest has settled into a dull roar, but it doesn't go away, even as he's unpacking.

A quick glance at his phone reminds him that Smalls gets out of school in less than an hour, and that he needs to quickly find a way to face his youngest sibling.

He settles for waiting- as any responsible adult would- on the couch and playing Mario Kart, looking up at the door every round or so. It wasn't that he particularly liked the game, but his roommate back in Santa Fe had basically forced him to get it, and now he was hooked. 

He's so immersed in his game that he doesn't notice the door opening, only looking up at the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. He makes eye contact with Smalls, and his breath catches in his throat.

"Jack?" She asks, voice hesitant, as if he would disappear if she spoke. He slowly stands up, opening his arms.

"I'm home."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really hoped you enjoyed, and I hope you have a wonderful day! :D


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